Parental Satisfaction with Home Phototherapy

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A qualitative study looking at parental satisfaction following home phototherapy treatment for jaundice.

• IRAS ID

  247062

• Contact name

  Karen E Harvey

• Contact email

  karen.harvey@lwh.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 7 months, 3 days

• Research summary

  The purpose of the scheme is to provide an out of hospital treatment for babies who require treatment for physiological jaundice in the first few weeks of life.
  Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust (LWH) is a specialist NHS care provider of health services to women, babies and their families.
  Over 8000 babies are delivered at LWH each year. The majority of deliveries are straightforward, and women and their babies are discharged home soon after delivery. However, approximately 15 % of new-borns require specialist neonatal treatment. Very often, mothers are fit for discharge home, but the babies require medical interventions, which mean they need to remain in hospital.
  Jaundice caused by hyperbilirubinemia, (high bilirubin levels in the blood) is one of the most common reasons for readmission to hospital in the first 28 days of life. Up to 60% of term babies develop jaundice within the first week of life (NICE, 2010). If left unmonitored or untreated, hyperbilirubinemia can result in encephalopathy or kernicterus, an untreatable brain injury with consequences of brain damage or death.
  Treatment of jaundice is by phototherapy. The baby’s skin is exposed to fiber optic or LED phototherapy light, which lowers the bilirubin levels in the baby's blood making it easier for the baby's liver to break down and remove the bilirubin from their blood.
  There is minimal evidence supporting the use of phototherapy in the home.
  This research will focus on provision of a home phototherapy system for healthy term neonates with jaundice and parental satisfaction with care provided.
  We are hoping that home phototherapy may prevent prolonged hospitalisation that it will promote mother-infant bonding and lead to increased parental satisfaction. It is anticipated that the parents may experience a sense of independence and control regarding the care of their baby when using home phototherapy and that its use may result in a reduction in the costs of treatment

• REC name

  Wales REC 7

• REC reference

  18/WA/0195

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Jul 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion